Kitty is FIV positive so he cannot live in my home

[SheltieLover]

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

We have opted to have him neutered & vaxed & release him, rather than sending him to the Bridge because we know he has lived outside here since birth 4 yrs ago & has interacted with the other homeless kitties.

[brer cat]

1. I'm so sorry, Sheltie.

[SheltieLover]

2. Thx, BC

I'm broken hearted for him.

[gab13by13]

3. As I said, I have an outdoor cat with feline leukemia

who is more than 8 years old. We took him to the vet 8 years ago and he was probably at least a year old then.

If your cat is 4 1/2 years old he still is beating the odds so maybe he will turn out like my cat.

[SheltieLover]

6. Thx, Gab

[iscooterliberally]

4. I'm glad you saved him and didn't have him put down.

He still has a shot at living the good life around your place and I'll bet he can be happy too. You have made a huge improvement on this little cat's life. I hope he sticks around and gives you the slow blinks for years to come.

[SheltieLover]

7. Ty!

[cilla4progress]

5. I don't understand?

FIV? Live outside?

I'm sorry! ❤️

[SheltieLover]

8. Yes.

It's like HIV for cats. Highly contagious through all body fluids, so he cannot live indoors as part of our family because I have another kitty.

As he has lived outdoors here for 4.5 yrs already & appears healthy, we have opted to have him vetted, then we will release.

💔💔💔💔💔

[cilla4progress]

9. Ahh...

what is "release"?

[gab13by13]

11. Yes, you are correct about being contagious,

they will infect another cat mainly through fighting, via blood transfer. I told the vet that our outdoor cats do not fight but they do share food bowls. The vet said that fighting was the main worry.

[JudyM]

10. So sorry about this, Sheltie.

Heartbreaking to give up a fur baby. FIV is awful. Have to ask, though, wouldn’t he still be able to transmit the virus to other cats outside?

[Karadeniz]

13. Yes he could and he caught it from someone outside.

[SheltieLover]

14. Yes, but he has lived outdoors here for 4.5 years already.

Rescue will find him a home. I've agreed to foster (in garage, away from my senior rescue) for 2 weeks while she finds him a home.

[JudyM]

16. Oh, that's great!

❤️

[SheltieLover]

17. Thx, Judy.

I'll miss him terribly, but my feelings aren't what's important. His life is. 😉



Happy Holidays!

[JudyM]

24. Happy holidays!

[Karadeniz]

12. FIV isn't easy to spread. It usually takes a bloodbath of a fight to do the job. Normal water bowl

and food and litter box use won't. Plus, FIV acquired as an adult rarely impacts anyone's quality of life. There's probably a carrier outside who spread it to your guy. If you have a spare room, that would be ideal. Kitty wouldn't come into contact with your cats and would be safe from outside carriers. I kept 8 FLV kittens isolated, first in the study and then in our bedroom (not all 8 at once!!!).

[SheltieLover]

15. Rescue is going to find him a suitable home

& I will fostef for 2 weeks while they find him a home.

Ty so much!

[Karadeniz]

18. Yaaaayyy!!! Thank you so much for all you do !!!!

[SheltieLover]

21. It's not in me to not help an animal Mother Nature sends my way.

Ty!

[Mousetoescamper]

20. Much has changed since your initial post and I missed the good news!

Congratulations! That's the best outcome. You'll miss him but as you've said, it's not about your feelings, it's about his life. At this point my former post isn't helpful and I'm going to delete.

[SheltieLover]

22. Ty!